he ordered the pilot to turn towards those poor creatures, without considering, that, by his endeavour of saving his nephew, Alphonso Calvo, who was one of the five Portuguese in the sloop, the ship must certainly be lost, and himself with her.  In effect, as it was difficult to steer the ship, when they would have turned her towards the sloop, she came across betwixt two mountains of water, which locked her up betwixt them; one of those waves fell upon the poop, and washed over the deck; and then it was that the whole company thought their business was done, and nothing but cries and lamentations were heard on every side.  Xavier, who was at his prayers in the captain’s cabin, ran out towards the noise, and saw a miserable object,—­the vessel ready to bulge, the seamen, the soldiers, and the passengers, all tumbling in confusion on each other, deploring their unhappy destiny, and expecting nothing but present death.  Then the holy man, lifting up his eyes and hands to heaven, said thus aloud, in the transport of his fervour, “O Jesus, thou love of my soul, succour us, I beseech thee, by those five wounds, which, for our sakes, thou hast suffered on the cross!” At that instant the ship, which already was sinking under water, raised herself aloft, without any visible assistance, and gained the surface of the waves.  The mariners, encouraged by so manifest a miracle, so ordered the sails, that they had the wind in poop, and pursued their course.

In the mean time the sloop was vanished out of sight, and no man doubted but she was swallowed by the Waves.  The captain lamented for his nephew, the rest shed tears for their lost companions.  As for the Father, his greatest affliction was for two Mahometan slaves, whom he could not convert to Christianity:  he sighed in thinking of their deplorable condition, but, in the midst of these anxious thoughts, entering into himself, or rather wholly recollecting himself in God, it came into his mind to intercede with Heaven for the protection of the sloop, in case it were not already lost.  In this he followed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and his prayer was not yet ended when he perceived that it was heard:  insomuch, that turning towards Edward de Gama, who was oppressed with sadness, “Afflict not yourself, my brother,” said he with a cheerful countenance; “before three days are ended, the daughter will come back and find the mother.”  The captain was so buried in his grief, that he saw too little probability in what the Father said, to found any strong belief upon it; which notwithstanding, at break of day, he sent one up to the scuttle, to see if any thing were within ken; but nothing was discovered, saving the sea, which was still troubled and white with foam.  The Father, who had been in private at his devotions, came out two hours after, with the same cheerfulness upon, his countenance; and having given the good day to the captain and pilot, and six or seven Portuguese who were in company, he enquired “if they had not yet seen the chalop?” they answered they had not:  and, because he desired that some one might again get up to the scuttle, one of the Portuguese, called Pedro Veglio, replied thus bluntly, “Yes, Father, the chalop will return, but not until another be lost:”  he meant that it was impossible the same chalop should come again.